This story of King Hezekiah’s illness and impending death is told in 2 Kings 20. God speaks to the king through His prophet Isaiah, saying, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover” (Verse 1).
Yet, in spite of this direct and seemingly determined message from the Lord, Hezekiah prayed that God would do a miracle on his behalf and allow him to live. Here is the biblical account, beginning with the king’s prayer:
“‘Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life’” (2 Kings 20:3-6).
On the surface, it appears that God changed His mind regarding Hezekiah, yet 1 Samuel 15:29 says, “He [the LORD] who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.” Of course, God (who is sovereign) knew beforehand what would take place and what He was ultimately going to do.
I strongly believe that God is indeed sovereign, yet answering the question as to why God allowed Hezekiah to live after telling him he was going to die is a very difficult proposition. It’s hard for us with finite minds to comprehend the workings of an infinite God. So, quite honestly, the best I can do in response to this question is to say that perhaps there is an important lesson the Lord would have us learn from the king’s experience. In fact, the Bible teaches that we are to learn from the experiences of the biblical characters, just as the Apostle Paul wrote, “These things happened to them [the Israelites] as examples and were written down as warnings for us” (1 Corinthians 10:11). With that said, I would like to relate how the story of King Hezekiah seemed to come to life for me. Many years ago the wife of a friend of mine was diagnosed with a terminal illness. My friend asked the church to pray for her, but his request seemed strange to me and led me more deeply into the Scriptures for an answer. He told the church, “Please don’t pray, ‘God’s will be done,’ for we already know that it is God’s will for her to be healed. Just pray for her healing!”
While I, too, wanted to see healing brought about in this young woman (who did ultimately die of her illness), I could not bring myself to pray in that way. I did pray for her healing but always closed my prayers with, “Nevertheless, may Your will be done.” After all, Jesus Himself prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39, emphasis mine).
As I searched the Scriptures for an answer, I came across this story about King Hezekiah. Reading various translations, I found a footnote on this passage in The Amplified Bible that I would like to share with you. It says this:
“Good King Hezekiah’s prayer life holds a mighty challenge and a clear and terrible warning for every believer. In his nations’ darkest hour (18:13-17), he prayed and God performed a miracle, one He had foretold (19:20, 32-37). It is a wonderful thing to have such power as that with God! But in this chapter (20) and the next, that power has become a terrible thing; for Hezekiah had put himself on God’s ‘ways and means committee,’ as chairman, in fact. God virtually said, ‘Your time has come to die’ (20:1). But Hezekiah’s words and tears implied, ‘No! I want to live [and have sons to do mighty things, and I myself have my best years ahead of me]!’ Read this chapter and the next and note at least ten (numbered) terrible things that resulted, that only God could foresee, and that only Hezekiah’s death, when God intended it, would have prevented. But Hezekiah interfered. The only sage prayer policy is ‘God’s will; nothing more; nothing less; nothing else; at any cost’ [Luke 22:42]. It pays triumphantly! Martin Luther is quoted as saying, ‘Blessed is he who submits to the will of God; he can never be unhappy. Men may deal with him as they will…; he is without care; he knows that “all things work together for good for him,”’ Rom. 8:28 (quoted in Lange’s Commentary, on Acts 21:14).”
Yes, sometimes it’s difficult to fully understand why God works the way He does. In this case, however, it seems clear that what the Lord initially intended for King Hezekiah would have been best for him. But if his story had not unfolded as it ultimately did, we would not have this wonderful example of being shown why God’s way is always best.
May our prayer lives and our lives in total be characterized by this: “God’s will; nothing more; nothing less; nothing else; at any cost”!